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Type: Schemes

  • No takers for govt’s ₹37,500-crore coal gasification scheme

    Why in the News

    The coal ministry’s ₹37,500 crore financial incentive scheme for surface coal and lignite gasification has drawn no application from any private or public player. The last date for submission is 7 September 2026, fixed by a Request for Proposal issued on 7 July 2026. The Union Cabinet had approved the scheme to gasify 75 million tonnes of coal and lignite and to cut imports of liquefied natural gas, urea and methanol. The ministry attributes the absence of bids to the time a project proposal of this scale takes to prepare. An incentive of this size drawing nothing at its first deadline points at the economics of a gasification project rather than at the paperwork.

    How does coal gasification work?

    1. From solid fuel to gas: Dry fuel is converted into synthetic gas, known as syngas.
    2. What syngas is used for: Syngas serves as an alternative fuel and as the feedstock for methanol, fertilisers, hydrogen and chemicals.
    3. The stated emissions gain: Converting coal into gas rather than burning it directly is counted as a reduction in carbon emissions.

    What was the scheme designed to achieve?

    1. A volume target: The programme is built around gasifying 75 million tonnes of coal and lignite.
    2. Import substitution: The scheme is aimed at reducing dependence on imports of liquefied natural gas, urea and methanol.
    3. Insulation from external shocks: Domestic production of these inputs is intended to shield the country from global price volatility and supply chain disruption.
    4. The instrument: A financial outlay of ₹37,500 crore was approved for surface coal and lignite gasification projects.

    How has the coal ministry explained the empty first round?

    1. Proposal preparation takes time: Given the scale of funds each project involves, the preparation of pre-feasibility reports and project proposals runs long.
    2. Interest without applications: Several industries have communicated their interest in participating, and none has filed.
    3. The count is not final: The number of applications cannot be stated before the deadline passes, since submission is entirely online.
    4. The window reopens: Application rounds are envisaged every two months, giving industry repeated opportunities to enter.

    Challenges to the coal gasification incentive scheme

    1. High ash domestic coal raises the cost: Indian coal carries a high ash content, which lowers gas yield per tonne and raises the capital cost of the gasifier. Eg. Gasifier designs proven on low ash imported coal need modification before they run on Indian coal.
      The Fix: Tie the incentive to a gasifier configuration demonstrated on high ash domestic coal, rather than to project cost alone.
    2. The output price is set by policy, not by the market: Urea sold to farmers carries a maximum retail price fixed by the Centre, so a coal based producer’s revenue depends on the subsidy regime. Eg. Urea remains outside the Nutrient Based Subsidy regime and continues to be sold at a controlled price.
      The Fix: Offer a long term offtake price for coal based urea and methanol, so a project’s revenue is known before financial closure.
    3. No assured buyer for the other outputs: Lenders fund a plant only where a committed purchaser exists for its methanol or hydrogen. Eg. India has no binding methanol blending obligation comparable to the dated targets under the ethanol blending programme.
      The Fix: Notify a methanol blending obligation with dated targets, so demand exists independently of the capital subsidy.
    4. A coal based route to a fuel sold as clean: The process begins with coal, so the emissions case rests on capturing the carbon dioxide the process concentrates. Eg. Coal to methanol carries higher lifecycle emissions than natural gas based methanol.
      The Fix: Make carbon capture capability a condition of the incentive rather than an optional addition.
    5. Clearances have to be assembled before a bid: A promoter needs a coal linkage, land and water in place before a proposal is fileable, and the incentive supplies none of them. Eg. The Talcher Fertilizers coal to urea project in Odisha has run well past its original commissioning timeline.
      The Fix: Bundle a coal linkage and a land allotment with the incentive award, so a bidder is not chasing clearances and funding at the same time.

    Conclusion

    The obstacle here is not the size of the incentive but the absence of a price and a buyer for what a gasification plant would make. A capital subsidy lowers the cost of building the plant. It does not tell the promoter what the output will sell for, or who is obliged to buy it. The marker to watch is whether the next round is paired with an assured offtake price or a blending obligation, and whether a public sector energy company files before any private promoter does.

    Back2Basics: Lignite

    1. What it is: Lignite is the lowest rank of coal, high in moisture and low in fixed carbon, also called brown coal.
    2. Why it is used near the mine: Its calorific value is lower than that of bituminous coal, so transporting it long distances is uneconomic and it is burned or gasified close to the pithead.
    3. Where India’s reserves lie: The bulk of the country’s lignite sits in Tamil Nadu, with further deposits in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir.
    4. Who mines it: NLC India Limited, a central public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Coal, is the largest lignite producer in the country.

    [2025] Consider the following substances:

    I. Ethanol

    II. Nitroglycerine

    III. Urea

    Coal gasification technology can be used in the production of how many of them?

    (a) Only one

    (b) Only two

    (c) All three

    (d) None

  • Govt. to spend Rs 24,000 crore to modernise police force

    Govt. to spend Rs 24,000 crore to modernise police force

    Why in the News

    The Union government has told the Supreme Court that it has begun implementing an umbrella Police Modernisation Mission worth Rs 24,000 crore over the next five years.

    What is the Police Modernisation Mission?

    1. Its form: It is an umbrella scheme, meaning several police modernisation components are funded through a single mission rather than as separate schemes.
    2. Its size and horizon: The outlay is Rs 24,000 crore, to be spent over five years.
    3. Who it covers: It targets the internal security capabilities of both State police forces and the Central Armed Police Forces.
    4. Its stated route: The capability gain is to come through greater use of technology, which is the only delivery mechanism named in the submission.

    Why was the disclosure made in a court proceeding?

    1. The proceeding was begun by the Court itself: The suo motu case was initiated in 2025 after the Court took note of a media report on non functional CCTV cameras at Udaipur police stations.
    2. The Court widened it into a compliance review: It sought compliance reports from the Centre, the States and the Union Territories on the installation and functioning of cameras.
    3. The Bench: The matter is before a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, with the Centre represented by an Additional Solicitor-General.
    4. The mission answers the compliance question with an outlay: The Centre’s response to a record of equipment not working is a larger programme to buy equipment, and no separate maintenance or functioning guarantee was placed before the Court.

    What did Paramvir Singh Saini versus Baljit Singh require?

    1. Cameras at specified locations: The 2021 judgment mandated CCTV cameras at key locations in police stations, including lock ups and the rooms of inspectors and sub-inspectors.
    2. Cameras of a specified capability: The directions required night vision and audio recording, so that an interrogation is recorded and not merely observed.
    3. Footage retention: Recordings were to be preserved for a stated minimum period, so that a complaint filed months later can still be tested against the record.
    4. Oversight bodies: State level and district level oversight committees were to be constituted to purchase, maintain and monitor the systems and to review footage.
    5. Notice to the public: Police stations were to display notices telling visitors that the premises are under camera cover and that a complaint of human rights violation may be made.

    Challenges to the Police Modernisation Mission

    1. Modernisation money has historically gone unspent: Releases under police modernisation schemes stall on State matching shares and pending utilisation certificates. Eg. Successive Comptroller and Auditor General audits have flagged underutilisation of police modernisation grants by States.
      The Fix: Release tranches against verified physical milestones, meaning equipment installed and functioning, rather than against expenditure statements.
    2. Central money buys equipment, not reform: Police is a State subject under Entry 2 of the State List, so a central mission can fund hardware without touching recruitment, tenure or accountability. Eg. Directions in Prakash Singh versus Union of India (2006) on fixed tenure and a State Security Commission remain only partly implemented across States.
      The Fix: Condition a share of each State’s mission grant on enactment of the police board and fixed tenure directions.
    3. Technology fails at the point of maintenance: Installed systems stop working for want of annual maintenance contracts, spares and power backup, and the capital grant does not cover them. Eg. Audits have found Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems terminals installed but not in use at a large number of police stations.
      The Fix: Fund a five year maintenance and consumables line inside each equipment sanction, instead of leaving it as a separate State liability.
    4. Manpower shortfall caps what technology can deliver: A camera or a database still needs an officer to operate, review and act on it, and State forces run well below sanctioned strength. Eg. Bureau of Police Research and Development data records an actual police strength close to 150 personnel per lakh population, against the United Nations recommended figure of 222.
      The Fix: Tie mission approval to a State recruitment schedule closing sanctioned vacancies across the same five years.
    5. Surveillance capacity grows faster than the oversight around it: Equipment installed for accountability also expands the force’s own recording and identification capability, with no independent auditor of its use. Eg. Access logs for police station footage are held and reviewed by the same force whose conduct the footage records.
      The Fix: Place footage access logs and retention compliance under an independent State level oversight body publishing an annual report.

    Conclusion

    The mission has moved from announcement to implementation, and it was disclosed in a proceeding about equipment already mandated and not functioning. Buying capability and sustaining it are different problems, and only the first has an outlay attached to it. The next point to watch is the compliance reports the Court has sought from the Centre, the States and the Union Territories, which is where the gap between equipment sanctioned and equipment working becomes visible.

    Back2Basics: Central Armed Police Forces

    1. What they are: Seven armed forces of the Union under the Ministry of Home Affairs, distinct both from the armed forces under the Ministry of Defence and from State police.
    2. The seven forces: Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal, Assam Rifles and the National Security Guard.
    3. How they are used: They are deployed to States on requisition for internal security duty, election duty and disaster response, and guard specified international border sectors.
    4. Command and recruitment: Each is headed by a Director General, with officer recruitment through the Union Public Service Commission and other ranks through the Staff Selection Commission.

    [2023, GS3, 15 marks] What are the internal security challenges being faced by India? Give out the role of Central Intelligence and Investigative Agencies tasked to counter such threats.

  • Progress review of Prime Minister Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana

    Progress review of Prime Minister Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana

    Why in News

    The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare reviewed the implementation progress of the Prime Minister Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY).

    Core facts

    1. What it is: PMDDKY is a district focused agriculture development scheme. It converges existing schemes to raise farm productivity in India’s weakest performing agricultural districts.
    2. Implementing ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is the nodal ministry. Multiple line departments contribute converged schemes.
    3. Coverage: The scheme targets 100 districts. Districts are selected on three parameters. The parameters are low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity, and low credit disbursement.
    4. Convergence design: The scheme pools 36 existing schemes across 11 departments. It layers these on a single district plan rather than creating a new fund line.
    5. Release specific review figures: The specific progress numbers, district status, and targets reported in PRID 2305501 could not be verified from PIB this run. They are not reproduced here.

    Static Context

    1. Origin: The scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2025 to 2026. The Union Cabinet approved it in July 2025.
    2. Duration: The scheme runs for 6 years from 2025 to 2026.
    3. Model: The scheme is modelled on the Aspirational Districts Programme. That programme uses ranking, convergence, and competitive monitoring to lift the weakest districts.
    4. Focus areas: The scheme covers productivity, crop diversification, sustainable agriculture, irrigation and water conservation, post harvest storage at panchayat and block level, and farm credit.
    5. Monitoring: District, State, and National level committees oversee the scheme. NITI Aayog and assigned Central Nodal Officers support monitoring.

    Prelims angle

    1. Number of districts covered: 100 districts.
    2. Selection parameters: low productivity, low cropping intensity, low credit disbursement.
    3. Number of converged schemes: 36 schemes across 11 departments.
    4. Parent design model: Aspirational Districts Programme.
    5. Nodal ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

    Mains angle

    GS3, agriculture theme (major crops, cropping patterns, agricultural productivity, and scheme convergence). A question can ask how a convergence and district targeting model raises productivity in low performing agricultural districts. It can also ask how crop diversification and integrated farming raise small farmer incomes.

    “[2022, GS3, 15] What is Integrated Farming System ? How is it helpful to small and marginal farmers in India ?”

    “[2025, GS3, 10] Explain the factors influencing the decision of the farmers on the selection of high value crops in India.”

  • Majority of India’s gig workers remain out of govt’s reach

    Majority of India’s gig workers remain out of govt’s reach

    Why in the News

    Only 8.58 lakh gig workers stood registered on the e-Shram portal as of the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s reply in the Rajya Sabha in January 2026, the latest publicly available figure.

    How far has the Budget’s health cover promise actually reached?

    1. Registration against the promise: The Budget’s beneficiary figure of over one crore compares with 8.58 lakh registrations on e-Shram, the figure the Ministry gave Parliament in January 2026.
    2. The optimistic case still falls short: A doubling of registrations since January would still cover only around 15 percent of the estimated gig workforce.
    3. The promise itself drove enrolment: Registrations of gig workers on e-Shram rose sharply from 2025, and the health cover announcement is the visible cause of that surge.
    4. Registration is the gate to every benefit: Registration on e-Shram is a prerequisite for availing benefits, so an unregistered gig worker is invisible to the scheme by design.

    Why does the government not know how many gig workers India has?

    1. One source for every estimate: The figure of over one crore gig workers, quoted in many government replies in Parliament last year, comes from a single document, the NITI Aayog report “India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy” released in June 2022.
    2. What that report estimated: It put the gig workforce at around 77 lakh in 2020-21 and projected 1.27 crore in 2024-25 and 1.43 crore in the year after.
    3. No dedicated measurement effort exists: In the absence of any effort to measure the gig workforce, official estimates rely solely on this NITI Aayog report.
    4. The national labour survey does not count them: The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports do not capture gig workers as a distinct category, even though the estimated gig workforce is about 2 percent of India’s total workforce of 61.6 crore as cited by the 2025 PLFS report.

    What has the government built for gig workers, and what has not arrived?

    1. e-Shram as the single register: The portal, launched in 2021, is conceptualised as an Aadhaar-seeded National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) and has become the unified platform for tracking the unorganised workforce, including gig workers.
    2. A legal definition came only in 2020: The government officially defined a gig worker only in the Code on Social Security, 2020, which came into force last year.
    3. The Code’s promises remain largely on paper: The Code promised accident insurance, maternity benefits and a dedicated social security fund for gig workers, and most of these are yet to materialise.

    Where are the registered gig workers, by State and by sector?

    1. Registrations are uneven across States: The ten States with the most registered gig workers as of January 2026 are led by West Bengal (54,734), Delhi (49,479), Andhra Pradesh (39,212), Rajasthan (38,205), Karnataka (37,871), Gujarat (34,756) and Madhya Pradesh (34,351), with Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar completing the list.
    2. Urbanised southern States are missing from the top ten: Tamil Nadu (31,654), Telangana (29,951) and Keralam (11,219) are not among the ten States with the highest registrations, despite their high urbanisation.
    3. Twenty one sectors on paper, three in practice: NITI Aayog’s 2022 report listed 21 sectors with gig workers, including agriculture, healthcare, education and retail, but e-Shram registrations concentrate in the food industry, transportation, and domestic and household work.
    4. The sector shares are lopsided: The largest single sector accounts for 32.8 percent of registered gig workers, and construction (3.6 percent) and agriculture (3.4 percent) are the smallest of the top five sectors.

    Challenges to e-Shram as the gateway for gig worker welfare

    1. Enrolment depends on the worker, not the platform: e-Shram is a self-registration portal, and no aggregator is obliged to enrol the workers it engages. Eg. The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act, 2023 instead makes aggregators register their workers with a State welfare board.
      The Fix: Require aggregators to push worker data into e-Shram at onboarding under the Code on Social Security, 2020, so registration stops depending on individual initiative.
    2. No survey category means no target to measure against: Without a gig work module in the labour survey, the government cannot say what share of the workforce any scheme covers. Eg. The Ministry’s January 2026 reply to Parliament could cite portal registrations but no survey count.
      The Fix: Add a platform and gig work classification to the PLFS questionnaire so coverage is measured against a surveyed denominator.
    3. The funding source has not been built: The Code provides for aggregator contributions of 1 to 2 percent of annual turnover, capped at 5 percent of payments to workers, and the fund those contributions were to feed has not materialised. Eg. Karnataka’s Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025 levies its own transaction fee because no central fund is flowing.
      The Fix: Notify the contribution rules and the social security fund so central benefits do not depend on Budget-by-Budget announcements.
    4. State schemes fragment portability: State-level gig worker boards create separate registrations and benefits for a workforce that moves across State lines. Eg. A delivery worker registered in Rajasthan gains nothing from Karnataka’s fund on relocating.
      The Fix: Make e-Shram the single identifier that State boards read from, so benefits follow the worker across States.

    Conclusion

    The health cover promise has produced registrations faster than any earlier measure, but the register still holds a fraction of the workforce the promise was made for. The deeper problem is a denominator the state has never measured. The next e-Shram registration figure released to Parliament, and whether the Code’s social security fund is finally notified, are the two markers to watch.

    Back2Basics: Gig worker and platform worker under the Code on Social Security, 2020

    1. Gig worker: A person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside the traditional employer-employee relationship.
    2. Platform worker: A person in platform work, meaning work arranged through an online platform that connects organisations or individuals with workers to provide specific services for payment.
    3. Aggregator: A digital intermediary or marketplace through which a buyer or user connects with a seller or service provider, the entity the Code identifies for contributions.
    4. Why the definitions matter: They are the first statutory recognition of gig work in India, and eligibility for the Code’s social security schemes is tied to them.

    [2024, GS3, 15 marks] Discuss the merits and demerits of the four ‘Labour Codes’ in the context of labour market reforms in India. What has been the progress so far in this regard?”

  • Foreign Assets Disclosure Scheme: Concerns rise over high fee on ESOPs, small investments

    Why in the News

    The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers – Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), launched on 16 August, charges a flat Rs 1 lakh fee to disclose a foreign asset that was already taxed or acquired as a non-resident but was not declared in the income tax return. Salaried employees holding unreported employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and restricted stock units (RSUs) (shares granted by an employer as part of pay, vesting over time) must pay the fee even where they made no gain. The scheme was proposed in this year’s Budget to address the “practical issues of small taxpayers like students, young professionals, tech employees, relocated NRIs”. The tension is between a fee designed as a low-cost route to compliance and a flat amount that exceeds the value of many of the assets it is meant to regularise.

    What are the two categories under FAST-DS?

    1. Where the complaints sit: The dispute is entirely about Category (ii), where the asset was never untaxed and the only lapse is non-disclosure in the return.
    2. The alternative the Act blocks: The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 does not recognise an updated return for income that was never taxed or disclosed, so an updated return does not cure the lapse.

    Why does a flat fee fall hardest on the smallest disclosers?

    1. Fee exceeding the asset: A salaried individual who invested Rs 90,000 in United States-listed stocks, now trading at a loss, must pay Rs 1 lakh upfront to disclose the loss-making holding. The transfer already appeared in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) of his return; only the separate Schedule FA entry was missing.
    2. Fee on salary already reported: An employee of a foreign company operating in India had the vesting details of his ESOPs in his salary but not in Schedule FA. He must pay Rs 1 lakh as a disclosure charge on income that was already part of his taxed pay.
    3. The employee’s objection: ESOPs are part of salary, and Rs 1 lakh for disclosure alone is too high a price for a reporting omission.
    4. The materiality test: Materiality is the maximum error allowed in financial statements before they are considered wrong. Where the amounts fall below any reasonable materiality threshold, a Rs 1 lakh penalty is disproportionate to the error.

    Why are ESOPs and residency status at the centre of the dispute?

    1. Non-residents who became residents: Many employees received ESOPs from their global companies as non-resident Indians (NRIs) and were later deputed to India, becoming residents. They did not disclose the old grants earlier and are disclosing them now.
    2. Disclosure invites a notice: After disclosure, the discloser receives a notice asking how the asset was acquired. The position put to the authorities is that the change from non-resident to resident status must be recorded before such notices issue.
    3. ESOPs as a mainstream pay component: ESOPs are a key salary component in the technology sector, startups and foreign companies. The scale shows in the Balance of Payments (BoP) line for “financial derivatives (other than reserves) and employee stock options”.
    4. The outflow figures: Net outflows under that BoP line stood at just under $24 billion in 2025-26, up 8 per cent from about $22 billion in 2024-25. The 2024-25 figure had itself almost tripled from nearly $8 billion in 2023-24.

    Is the updated return a way around the scheme?

    1. What employees are considering: Many employees are weighing an updated return for such anomalies instead of disclosing under the scheme, with greater scrutiny after disclosure the key concern.
    2. The tax department’s position: Even if an updated return is filed, the discloser remains liable to tax and penalty under the Black Money Act, because the Act does not recognise updated returns for income never taxed or disclosed. Disclosure under FAST-DS is therefore the safer route, and the department states there is no intention of additional scrutiny of such declarations.

    Challenges to FAST-DS

    1. A flat fee suppresses uptake: A disclosure window succeeds only if the cost of using it is below the cost of staying hidden, and a fee larger than the asset inverts that calculation for small holders. Eg. The 90-day compliance window under the Black Money Act in 2015 drew only 644 declarations totalling Rs 4,164 crore.
      The Fix: Slab the Category (ii) fee by asset value, with a nominal fee below a stated threshold.
    2. The department already holds the data: For many disclosers the asset is visible in the AIS or through automatic exchange of financial account information, so the fee is charged for reporting what the department can see. Eg. India receives account data on residents’ foreign holdings under the Common Reporting Standard, with exchanges running since 2017.
      The Fix: Pre-fill Schedule FA from AIS and exchanged data and treat a confirmed pre-filled entry as compliance without a separate fee.
    3. Post-disclosure notices deter the target group: Relocated professionals who disclose and then receive an acquisition notice signal to others that disclosure invites inquiry. Eg. Notices asking how an ESOP grant was acquired reach employees whose grant date predates their residency.
      The Fix: Issue a standing instruction that Category (ii) disclosures carrying non-resident acquisition dates close without notice unless a third-party data mismatch exists.

    Conclusion

    The scheme’s design assumes the small taxpayer’s problem is fear of the Black Money Act, when for ESOP holders the problem is a fee unrelated to the size of the lapse. That mismatch is unresolved and no revision of the fee has been announced. The scheme is open and the source states no closing date. What to watch is whether the Central Board of Direct Taxes slabs the Category (ii) fee or clarifies the treatment of grants acquired as a non-resident.

    Back2Basics

    1. Schedule FA: Schedule FA (Foreign Assets) is the part of the income tax return in which a resident and ordinarily resident taxpayer must list every foreign asset held at any time in the year, including shares, ESOPs, bank accounts and immovable property, whether or not it produced income.
    2. Who must file it: The obligation applies to residents only, so a non-resident who acquired an asset abroad first becomes liable to report it in the year he becomes resident.
    3. The penalty it carries: Failure to report attracts a penalty of Rs 10 lakh under the Black Money Act, relaxed from 2024 for movable foreign assets, other than immovable property, of up to Rs 20 lakh in aggregate.

    [2026] Which one of the following best describes the ‘Crowding Out Effect’ in the context of fiscal policy?

    (a) A situation where private investment increases due to increased Government spending

    (b) A situation where Government borrowing leads to higher interest rates, which reduces private investment

    (c) A situation where an increase in taxes leads to increased private sector investment

    (d) A situation where Government spending has no impact on aggregate demand

  • Domestic chip design to receive a boost with Rs 1.27 lakh cr push

    Domestic chip design to receive a boost with Rs 1.27 lakh cr push

    Why in the News

    The Centre has notified the operational framework for its Rs 1.27 lakh crore Semicon 2.0 programme, placing the design of Indian chips and the intellectual property behind them at the front of the country’s semiconductor strategy.

    Components of the Semicon 2.0 programme

    1. Support runs across six pillars: At least three of them are devoted entirely to chip design.
    2. Three design incentives are on offer: Chips designed for strategic purposes, chips for the commercial market, and domestically developed chips deployed at scale each attract separate support.
    3. The upstream chain has its own track: Makers of semiconductor materials, chemicals and manufacturing equipment are eligible outside the design pillars.
    4. Fabrication and packaging remain funded: Fabrication plants and advanced chip packaging continue to draw subsidy alongside the design tracks.

    How will the strategic chip design track work?

    1. The government picks the technologies first: It will identify technologies and building blocks, including intellectual property for compute, memory, radio frequency, power, networking and sensors, that it wants developed in India.
    2. The trigger is national importance: The track covers chips meant for areas of national importance and for critical infrastructure.
    3. Selection runs through competitive bidding: The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the government’s high performance computing research organisation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will issue requests for proposals and select developers.
    4. The state keeps a share of the intellectual property: The intellectual property created under these projects will be jointly owned by the developing company and C-DAC.
    5. Consortiums are permitted: Indian owned and controlled companies can participate independently or alongside global companies, research organisations and academic institutions.

    What does the commercial design track offer?

    1. The target is a fabless industry: The track aims to build commercially viable Indian fabless chip companies, meaning firms that design chips and contract out their manufacture.
    2. Firms get access to design infrastructure: Eligible firms receive electronic design automation (EDA) tools, multi-project wafer fabrication, intellectual property cores, compute sub-systems and post-silicon validation.
    3. Small firms receive seed money: Start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) designing commercial chips can receive up to Rs 15 crore or 50 per cent of project cost, whichever is lower.
    4. The government can take equity: It can make equity co-investments alongside venture capital or private equity investors.
    5. Large firms repay through royalty: Larger companies can opt for royalty financing and pay 5 per cent of a product’s net revenue until 1.5 times the government’s financial support has been recovered.
    6. Eligibility now reaches Overseas Citizens of India: Companies incorporated and headquartered in India qualify if they are owned and controlled by Indian citizens or Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and maintain a significant operational and manpower presence in the country.

    What does the framework do for the upstream supply chain?

    1. Capital support is set at 30 per cent: Research and development facilities for semiconductor equipment, plants making semiconductor grade wafers, photomasks, photoresists, substrates, chemicals and gases, testing facilities, and units producing equipment and components can each claim that share of capital expenditure.
    2. Equipment makers get a declining incentive: A production linked incentive of 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 per cent runs over five years beginning FY 2028-29.
    3. The incentive is tied to domestic sourcing: It is paid on the value of the bill of materials that an equipment maker sources from domestic manufacturers.
    4. Total support carries a ceiling: Combined support for these units is capped at 50 per cent of eligible capital expenditure.
    5. The chain being targeted is largely imported today: The upstream inputs needed to operate semiconductor factories are currently brought in from abroad.

    Challenges to India’s semiconductor design push

    1. A design still has to be turned into silicon: A fabless firm depends on a foundry, and the wafers for an Indian design are fabricated abroad until domestic plants reach production. Eg. Indian design centres of global chip firms already complete chip designs that are fabricated in Taiwan and South Korea.
      The Fix: Tie the later tranches of design support to committed capacity bookings at Indian fabrication plants, so domestic demand and domestic supply arrive together.
    2. The talent sits inside multinational captive centres: India supplies a large share of the world’s chip design engineers, and most of them work on parts of products owned elsewhere. Eg. Global semiconductor companies run large design centres in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Noida.
      The Fix: Subsidise multi-project wafer runs for university teams so student designs reach silicon and full product ownership is learned before graduation.
    3. The design tools are a concentrated import: Electronic design automation software comes from a small number of United States based vendors and is subject to export control. Eg. The United States restricted sales of that software to Chinese customers in 2025 before reversing the order weeks later.
      The Fix: Secure long term licence access inside technology partnership agreements and fund an indigenous tool stack for mature process nodes.
    4. Approved outlay is not disbursed money: A start-up carries the working capital cost of a delayed claim, and slow disbursal has followed earlier electronics incentive schemes. Eg. Disbursals under production linked incentive schemes have repeatedly trailed the amounts approved across sectors.
      The Fix: Set a claim settlement deadline in the scheme guidelines with interest payable on delayed disbursal.
    5. Utilities decide where a plant can go: A fabrication plant requires ultrapure water and uninterrupted power at a scale few industrial locations can guarantee. Eg. Taiwan’s 2021 drought forced its foundries to truck in water and to cut consumption.
      The Fix: Pre-certify candidate sites for water and power reliability before approving a plant at that location.

    Conclusion

    Semicon 2.0 can transform India into a global semiconductor powerhouse by nurturing indigenous chip design, strengthening manufacturing, reducing import dependence, creating high-value jobs, and boosting technological self-reliance.

    Back2Basics: Centre for Development of Advanced Computing

    1. Establishment: Set up in 1988 as a scientific society under what is now the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
    2. Origin: It was created to build indigenous supercomputers after India was refused access to imported high performance computing systems.
    3. Flagship line: It developed the PARAM series of supercomputers, beginning with PARAM 8000 in 1991.
    4. Present mandate: It works on high performance computing, microprocessors, language computing and cyber security, and implements the National Supercomputing Mission alongside the Indian Institute of Science.

    “[2025, GS3, 15 marks] India aims to become a semiconductor manufacturing hub. What are the challenges faced by the semiconductor industry in India? Mention the salient features of the India Semiconductor Mission.”

  • ‘Despite US tariffs, our fish export has increased… now exporting to the UK, Japan, China, Thailand and EU’

    ‘Despite US tariffs, our fish export has increased… now exporting to the UK, Japan, China, Thailand and EU’

    Why in the News

    India’s fish exports reached Rs 73,890 crore in 2025-26, an increase of about Rs 11,000 crore over the previous year. The United States imposed a tariff of more than 58 per cent on Indian goods in 2025, and shipments to that market fell by around 19 to 20 per cent. Growth of more than 20 per cent in the European Union and in countries with which India has signed free trade agreements covered the shortfall. The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying set out this record alongside the production and infrastructure results claimed for the Blue Revolution, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund. The tension is that the exports absorbing the tariff are marine products, and the production growth being cited is led by inland fisheries, which contribute only about 2 per cent of export earnings.

    How has fish production moved since 2013-14?

    1. Output has more than doubled: Total fish production rose from 95.79 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to 197.75 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, a growth of 115 per cent.
    2. Inland fisheries led it: Inland production grew by 147 per cent over the same period.
    3. What paid for it: More than Rs 39,000 crore was invested through the Blue Revolution launched in 2015, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund.
    4. The livelihood base: Three crore people work directly as fishers or fish farmers, and about six crore livelihoods depend on the wider value chain.
    5. An administrative separation: The fisheries department was carved out of the agriculture ministry in 2019 and given a ministry of its own.

    What does Bihar’s shift show about inland fisheries?

    1. A dependence reversed: Around 90 to 95 per cent of the fish sold in Bihar earlier came from Andhra Pradesh, and that share is now about 5 per cent.
    2. The production jump: Bihar’s output has grown eleven times since 2005 to approximately 10.89 lakh tonnes.
    3. From buyer to seller: Bihar now sends freshwater fish to Nepal, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

    How were export markets rebuilt after the tariff?

    1. The base being defended: Fish exports had risen from Rs 30,213 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 62,408 crore in 2024-25 before the tariff was imposed.
    2. Exporters were redirected: The ministry pushed exporters toward new destinations in coordination with the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), the statutory body under the commerce ministry that promotes marine product exports.
    3. The outreach: Round table conferences were held with ambassadors and high commissioners of 49 countries.
    4. Where the fish now goes: The new markets are the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Thailand and several European Union countries.
    5. What is actually shipped: Inland and freshwater fish make up only about 2 per cent of exports, so the earnings growth is in marine products.

    What did India change to meet importing countries’ requirements?

    1. Antibiotics were banned: European countries and the United Kingdom refuse fish produced using harmful antibiotics, and India prohibited their use in response.
    2. Origin travels with the fish: A traceability framework requires the origin of the fish to be established through a QR code.
    3. A domestic quality problem runs alongside: Farmed mangur is being confiscated in Bihar over its effect on native species and on local livelihoods, and injections used to accelerate its growth carry a health risk.

    Why is deep sea fishing being opened around Lakshadweep and the Andamans?

    1. The loss being addressed: Almost one lakh tonnes of tuna were believed to die naturally in those waters for want of fishing infrastructure.
    2. The gap in effort: Indian vessels were not fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the belt extending 200 nautical miles from the baseline within which a coastal state holds rights over living and non living resources, or on the high seas beyond it.
    3. What has been put in place: Fishing infrastructure for the islands was announced in the 2024 Budget, guidelines for the Exclusive Economic Zone and the high seas were formulated, and investor meetings were held in both island groups.
    4. The security condition: Only vessels carrying the national flag will be permitted to fish on the high seas, on the ground that the sea is a national security concern.
    5. The target species: Tuna is the intended catch, among the most expensive fish in the world and in high global demand.

    How are fishing communities being protected against climate risk?

    1. Transponders on vessels: Fishing vessels are being fitted with transponders connected to satellites.
    2. Contact and early warning: A fisher at sea for 15 to 20 days can stay in touch with family through an Android phone linked to the transponder, and alerts warn of approaching storms and direct vessels away from danger.
    3. A fuel saving by product: The same system indicates where fish are likely to be found, which cuts searching time and fuel use.
    4. The stated limit of the mandate: Rising sea temperatures and changing rainfall are treated as sitting with the environment ministry rather than with the fisheries ministry.

    Why does India’s livestock scale not convert into exports?

    1. The scale: India ranks first in the world in milk production and second in egg production.
    2. The barrier: Foot and mouth disease and brucellosis in the animal population restrict how much India can export.
    3. The response: Vaccination campaigns aimed at eradicating foot and mouth disease have brought outbreaks down from 132 in 2019 to 40.
    4. A domestic standards question: Four States have banned analogue paneer, an artificial product that is not made from milk and that carries a health risk.

    How is the stray cattle problem being addressed at source?

    1. It is a State subject: Management of stray animals sits with State governments rather than with the Centre.
    2. Sex sorted semen changes the calf ratio: Artificial insemination using sex sorted semen produces around 90 per cent female calves.
    3. Why the abandoned animals are male: Most animals left on roads are male, since tractors have replaced oxen in farm work.
    4. The incentive being created: More female calves mean more milk and more income, giving an owner a reason to rear the animal rather than abandon it.

    What is the Centre’s role in panchayat finance?

    1. The constitutional position: Under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment the panchayat is a distinct tier of government, and the laws governing its functioning are State laws.
    2. On the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996: The Act completes three decades this year and its implementation is delayed in several States. The stated central position is that States hold the power to legislate here, so the Centre does not intervene.
    3. What the Centre transfers: The Centre releases the grants recommended by the Finance Commission to States in a 90:10 ratio determined by population and geographical conditions.
    4. The release condition: States must pass the money on to panchayats within 10 days, failing which the second instalment is withheld.
    5. Performance linked grants: The Sixteenth Finance Commission has recommended that 20 per cent of the grant be performance based, which forces panchayats to develop their own revenue sources.
    6. Capacity building: Training of elected representatives, including women representatives, is run with trainers drawn from institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
    7. Bihar’s reservation record: Bihar reserved 50 per cent of seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions in 2006 and in local bodies in 2007, and women were 53 per cent of those elected in the last panchayat election.

    Conclusion

    Production was never the constraint here. Exports held up because the ministry found new buyers and met the residue and traceability conditions those buyers impose, which is a compliance achievement rather than a fishing one. The marker to watch is whether the island investor meetings convert into Indian flagged vessels actually working the Exclusive Economic Zone.

    Back2Basics

    1. Administering department: Implemented by the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
    2. Launch and outlay: Launched in 2020 with an investment of Rs 20,050 crore, the largest ever committed to the fisheries sector in India.
    3. Objectives: Raise fish production and productivity, modernise the value chain from harvest to market, and double the incomes of fishers and fish farmers.
    4. Targeted beneficiaries: Fishers, fish farmers, fish workers and vendors, fisheries cooperatives and fish farmer producer organisations.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2015, GS3, 12 marks] Livestock rearing has a big potential for providing non-farm employment and income in rural areas. Discuss suggesting suitable measures to promote this sector in India.”

  • All workers shifted to VB-G RAM G; e-KYC is not mandatory, says Centre

    Why in the News

    The Union Ministry of Rural Development has said that every worker registered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been migrated to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, irrespective of whether electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) verification of the job card is complete. The statement answers reporting that the job cards of 57 lakh active workers have not completed that verification. The Ministry has not disputed those numbers and says e-KYC is a database authentication measure rather than a precondition for exercising the statutory right to demand employment. The tension is that a verification requirement introduced to clean the worker database sits directly on top of a right that is meant to be exercisable on demand.

    What did the Ministry actually commit to?

    1. Migration is unconditional: Every worker registered under MGNREGA has been moved to the new mission regardless of e-KYC status.
    2. Pending verification does not block work: A pending e-KYC does not prevent a worker from demanding or from receiving employment.
    3. An exception route exists: An exception mechanism is available to facilitate the employment demand and the provision of work for workers whose verification is pending.
    4. The right is characterised as statutory: The Ministry’s position is that e-KYC authenticates the database and does not condition the statutory entitlement.

    What do the coverage numbers show?

    1. The verified total is large: e-KYC has been completed for 15.89 crore workers overall.
    2. Active worker coverage is near complete: 10.27 crore of 10.84 crore active workers have been verified, approximately 95 percent.
    3. The residual is the disputed group: 57 lakh active workers remain unverified, a figure the government has not contested.
    4. Employment provision is reported separately: Around 2.11 crore workers have so far been offered employment under the new mission, and the Ministry states that every worker who demanded employment was offered work as per demand.

    Where does responsibility for the verification sit?

    1. The task is with the States: e-KYC of workers is the responsibility of the concerned State and Union Territory governments.
    2. The stated purpose is database integrity: It is being undertaken to strengthen authentication and maintain an accurate and credible worker database.
    3. The Ministry characterises it as trivial: The process can ordinarily be completed in less than 30 seconds.
    4. The Centre’s role is advisory and supervisory: States have been advised to expeditiously complete verification of all active workers, with the Ministry monitoring the exercise.

    Challenges to biometric authentication of rural workers

    1. Fingerprint authentication fails for manual labourers: Sustained manual work erodes fingerprint ridges, so the biometric most commonly used for authentication is least reliable for the population the scheme is designed for. Eg. Authentication failures among elderly and manual workers were a documented cause of denied ration entitlements after Aadhaar seeding of the Public Distribution System. Fix. Make iris and face authentication, and offline verification against a signed identity document, equally valid at the field level.
    2. Connectivity gaps convert a 30 second process into a multi day one: Online authentication in low network blocks requires repeat visits to a common service centre at the worker’s own cost. Eg. Workers in remote blocks routinely travel to block headquarters for banking correspondent services because village level connectivity is intermittent. Fix. Permit offline capture at the gram panchayat with batch upload, so the worker’s trip does not depend on live connectivity.
    3. Database cleaning has historically deleted genuine workers: Bulk verification drives produce deletions of active job cards recorded as duplicates or as non existent. Eg. Crores of job cards were deleted during MGNREGA database cleaning exercises, with State level audits later finding genuine workers among them. Fix. Require a written, appealable deletion order served on the worker before a job card is removed.
    4. The exception mechanism is only as good as its field awareness: A right that survives on paper still fails where the panchayat functionary treats verification as mandatory. Eg. Aadhaar Based Payment System rollout saw wage payments stall for workers whose seeding was incomplete despite instructions that work could not be denied. Fix. Issue the exception route as a numbered circular to every gram panchayat with a stated escalation officer, rather than as a press statement.

    Conclusion

    The Ministry’s clarification settles the legal position and leaves the administrative one open, since the entitlement is denied at the panchayat counter rather than in the policy document. What to watch is whether the exception mechanism is actually invoked for the unverified workers in the coming employment season, measured by work provided to them rather than by the verification percentage.

    Back2Basics

    1. Statute: Enacted in 2005 and administered by the Ministry of Rural Development, it is the legal basis of the rural employment guarantee.
    2. The guarantee: It provides at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
    3. Demand driven design: Work must be provided within 15 days of a demand being registered, failing which the worker is entitled to an unemployment allowance from the State.
    4. Delivery unit: The job card issued to a household is the document that records registration, demand and days of work provided.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2011] Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”? (a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households (b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households (c) Adult members of households of all backward communities (d) Adult members of any household ANSWER: (d)”

  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana crop insurance record

    Why in the News

    PIB set out the coverage and claims record of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). PMFBY is the national crop insurance scheme.

    Core facts

    1. What it is: PMFBY provides crop insurance against non preventable natural risks. Cover runs from pre sowing to post harvest.
    2. Coverage record: About 56.96 crore farmer applications were insured since inception.
    3. Claims paid: About Rs 1,54,469 crore was paid in claims since inception.
    4. Farmer premium: Farmers pay 2 percent for Kharif crops, 1.5 percent for Rabi crops and 5 percent for commercial and horticultural crops. The government pays the balance premium.
    5. Design principle: The scheme follows a One Nation, One Crop, One Premium approach. It removed premium capping so full admissible claims are paid.
    6. Technology: Loss assessment uses remote sensing, drones and smartphones. Key systems are YES-TECH (Yield Estimation System based on Technology) and CROPIC (Collection of Real time Observations and Photographs of Crops).

    Static Context

    1. Launch: PMFBY was launched in 2016. It replaced earlier crop insurance schemes.
    2. Voluntary since 2020: Enrolment became voluntary for all farmers from the 2020 revamp. It was earlier compulsory for loanee farmers.
    3. Delivery platform: The National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) digitises enrolment, premium flow and claims.
    4. Implementing ministry: The scheme is run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

    Prelims angle

    1. Premium hook: Farmer premium is 2 percent Kharif, 1.5 percent Rabi, 5 percent commercial and horticultural. A uniform 2 percent for all crops is incorrect.
    2. Scope hook: The scheme covers post harvest losses from cyclones and unseasonal rain, and localised risks such as hailstorm and landslide.
    3. Tech hook: YES-TECH for yield estimation and CROPIC for photograph based crop verification.
    4. Year hook: Launched in 2016, voluntary since 2020.

    Mains angle

    GS3 (agricultural risk, crop insurance, subsidies). A question can ask how crop insurance protects small and marginal farmers against climate risk.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2016, GS3, 12.5 marks] Give the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to vagaries of nature, discuss the need for crop insurance and bring out the salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). [2016] With reference to ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’, consider the following statements: 1. Under this scheme, farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of two percent for any crop they cultivate in any season of the year. 2. This scheme covers post-harvest losses arising out of cyclones and unseasonal rains. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Answer: (b)”

  • Per Drop More Crop expands water efficient micro irrigation

    Why in the News

    PIB detailed the reach of the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component of national irrigation policy. Revised guidelines widen the water management activities that states can fund.

    Core facts

    1. What it is: Per Drop More Crop promotes drip and sprinkler irrigation. The aim is higher water use efficiency at the farm.
    2. Coverage record: About 83.06 lakh hectares were brought under micro irrigation from 2015-16 to 2023-24. About 30.55 lakh hectares of that were added in the last three years.
    3. Central assistance: About Rs 18,714.69 crore was released to states since inception.
    4. Subsidy pattern: Assistance is 55 percent for small and marginal farmers and 45 percent for other farmers. Northeastern and Himalayan states get 25 percent higher unit cost support.
    5. Revised guidelines: States can now plan micro level water management works such as diggi construction and water harvesting under the scheme.
    6. Figure caveat: Some current media figures cite about 115 lakh hectares and 12.30 lakh farmers. Those could not be verified on a fetchable PIB detail page, so the PIB verified figure of 83.06 lakh hectares is used above.

    Static Context

    1. Parent scheme history: PDMC ran under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) from 2015-16 to 2021-22. Since 2022-23 it runs under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).
    2. Micro Irrigation Fund: The Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) was created with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Its initial corpus was Rs 5,000 crore.
    3. Interest support: The Fund gives states a 3 percent interest subvention on loans for micro irrigation expansion.
    4. PMKSY mandate: PMKSY, launched in 2015, follows the goal of Har Khet Ko Paani and improved on farm water use.

    Prelims angle

    1. Umbrella hook: PDMC now sits under RKVY, earlier under PMKSY.
    2. Fund hook: The Micro Irrigation Fund is with NABARD, corpus Rs 5,000 crore.
    3. Concept hook: Micro irrigation cuts fertiliser and nutrient loss and can check groundwater depletion. It is not the only means of dryland irrigation.

    Mains angle

    GS3 (types of irrigation and irrigation systems). A question can ask how micro irrigation addresses India’s water stress and how coverage can be widened.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2021, GS3, 10 marks] How and to what extent would micro-irrigation help in solving India’s water crisis? [2016, GS3, 12.5 marks] What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing the water-use efficiency. [2011] With reference to micro-irrigation, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. Fertilizer/nutrient loss can be reduced. 2. It is the only means of irrigation in dry land farming. 3. In some areas of farming, receding of the groundwater table can be checked. (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Answer: (c)”